King joined Wigan in a £5million switch from Watford after a move to Fulham collapsed this week but he was given little to feed on while Heskey also had a quiet night in front of England manager Fabio Capello.

On the other hand, prospective Middlesbrough signing Afonso Alves will relish life on Teeside judging by the number of chances Boro created.

Wigan were fortunate to escape early on as Tuncay Sanli turned Paul Scharner inside out but his deft shot just clipped goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and went wide.

Scharner, remaining in the thick of the action, then produced a timely interception to deny Aliadiere a certain goal.

Tuncay started a fine move in setting Stewart Downing free down the right but his cross, seemingly inch-perfect for Aliadiere, was cut out as Scharner slid in.

Wigan did not look strong enough contain the hosts much longer and the inevitable happened after 18 minutes as Aliadiere latched onto a long ball and finished superbly from distance.

Boro suffered a blow before the interval as Tuncay was forced from the field with what looked like a hamstring injury. Mido, now fit after being sidelined since October, was brought on to replace him.